Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Public Space

Super Staten Solar Stop Signs

By Glenn McAnanama | Sep 7, 2006 | No Comments

New LED Flashing Stop Sign (with Solar Power Source) I found this Stop sign on the corner of Kissel Avenue and Snug Harbor Road near the entrance to Snug Harbor Little League. It appears to be a test model of a new generation of Stop signs that blink LED lights to be more visible to motorists […]

Is DOT Doing Enough to Make NYC Bike-Friendly?

By Aaron Naparstek | Sep 5, 2006 | 24 Comments

The question was debated, albeit briefly and in slow motion, by two New York City Department of Transportation employees in the pages of the New York Times last week. Last week, in a Sunday City section op/ed piece, Andrew Vesselinovitch argued that DOT is not doing enough for New York City cyclists. Vesselinovitch is the […]

Rally for a Livable Houston Street

By Aaron Donovan | Aug 31, 2006 | 8 Comments

(Photo by Will Sherman of Transportation Alternatives) As promised, members of Manhattan Community Board 2 and Transportation Alternatives held a rally yesterday where many elected officials spoke of the need for improved bicycling and pedestrian facilities on the Interstate Highway in our midst, Houston Street. Eighty years ago, Houston Street was a narrow street not much wider than Prince or Bleecker Streets […]

Dead Ball

By Alec | Aug 29, 2006 | 4 Comments

Whatever you think of the idea of a highrise cluster in Downtown Brooklyn, you have to worry that the sponsors of the Atlantic Yards project suggest that creating jobs and housing justifies the kind of planning that discourages street life. Among the lowlights of the marathon August 23 "public hearing" on the draft Environmental Impact […]

The Suburbanization of NYC’s Waterfront

By Ethan Kent | Aug 28, 2006 | 12 Comments

Recently, a bunch of us took a bike excursion along the East River waterfront from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn to the new Water Taxi Beach in Hunters Point, Queens. Traffic was light most of the way and street life relatively heavy. Though currently dominated by old industrial buildings, the thriving neighborhoods adjacent to the waterfront seem […]

Streetfilm: The Transformation of Willoughby Street

By Aaron Donovan | Aug 24, 2006 | 10 Comments

This spring, the DOT transformed the corner of Willoughby and Adams Streets in downtown Brooklyn from a dull gray, little-used automobile pass-through (above) into a pedestrian space complete with chairs, benches, plants, tables and sun umbrellas. But would the people come? Filmmaker Clarence Eckerson took his video camera to the corner to find out. The result is a 1-minute, 26-second Streetfilm on […]

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